News from the Congregation October 7, 2022

Oct 7

Written By Steven Lee; Marsha Ra & Joan Adams

‘‘‘ Episcopal Parish Network’ ; ‘2022 St. Francis Day Reflection’ ” | Other Dates to Remember| Sunday Programs: 10:30am Worship Service In-Person and Online, 11:30am All Are Welcome Coffee Hour, 4:00pm Evensong | Weekday Programs: Wed Bible Study on Paul’s Letter to the Romans, M-S Morning and Evening Prayer (Zoom)

Canon Lee

Greetings from Jacksonville, Florida. I am here for the fall planning committee meeting of the Episcopal Parish Network (EPN). As co-chair of the EPN planning committee, I lead a group of 15 people who plan the largest annual gathering in the Episcopal Church. In March 2023, over 800 people from across the church will gather in Jacksonville for peer-to-peer learning, mutual support, and fellowship.

The conference reminds me that as an Episcopal cathedral, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine does not stand alone. Rather, it is part of a network of churches across the country. Through the Anglican Communion, we are connected to churches and cathedrals throughout the world.

Being in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian emphasizes the importance of being part of this network. Through the relief and recovery efforts of organizations like Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), we have the opportunity to help those affected by Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Fiona.

Originally called the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief (the PB Fund), ERD was established in 1940 by the Episcopal Church to assist refugees fleeing Europe during World War II. Soon after the war, the agency’s efforts expanded to include additional humanitarian assistance, focusing mostly on disaster relief.

I am proud that we belong to this network called the Episcopal Church that connects with, and cares for, each other through thriving institutions like the Episcopal Parish Network and Episcopal Relief and Development. In a time when it is easy to be despondent about the future of the Church and its witness to the Gospel, these institutions show that the life-giving message of Jesus Christ can be a source of organizational strength and vision.

A Message from the Wardens

Senior Warden Marsha Ra on St. Francis Day

Last Sunday the Congregation did not set out coffee and snacks after the 10:30 service. When the Cathedral is filled to overflowing on Christmas, Easter and Saint Francis Day, this type of hospitality is difficult and there isn’t really space to stand around and talk to visitors. Instead, we set up a table on the close during the Saint Francis day fair and offer Milk Bone dog biscuits to many wonderful canine companion animals and chat with their humans. This year because of the rain, the animal blessings and abbreviated fair took place in Synod Hall. The numbers were much lower than a typical Saint Francis Day fair, but the feeling in the room was joyful and more intimate. People with their animals began to arrive about a half hour before the service ended. Ninety nine percent of the animals presented for a blessing were dogs. (I did notice one rooster and two baby snakes in a shoe box.) Finally a few hundred people showed up as the service had ended. Canon Lee was the only priest giving blessings at the very start of this, and he was quickly swallowed up by the crowd of dog-owners. Then Dean Malloy, Father Mark Hummel of Grace Church School and the four Chemin Neuf members stepped into the crowd and also began to offer blessings and it became much less chaotic. It was over in about an hour.

I have never lived with a dog. My parents didn’t believe in pets (except gold fish that were always dying!). My first pet was a kitten a colleague gave me when I turned 50. After I retired, I volunteered at the ASPCA for about six years. I was the only volunteer who had never handled a dog, so I spent most of my time working with cats. I did get to meet quite a few of the shelter dogs though, many of whom had terrible physical or behavioral problems. I remember one small terrier that had lost his two front legs. Yet he was always standing on his back legs and being incredibly friendly to anyone who came by. What a spirit! On Saint Francis Day the dogs are for the most part well adjusted, well cared for, and very affectionate, even to total strangers. (Or maybe it was the dog treats I was handing out?) Dogs and cats, gerbils and ferrets, rabbits and various types of birds, are a vital link for many of us to the broader creation. We get to know them as individuals, in a way we can never know feral animals. And we love them and sense that they love us, as individuals. One of my favorite cartoons—I’m sure it was in the New Yorker—shows a man, recently died, standing in heaven before the throne of God. On the throne is a Labrador retriever. It is clearly God. God says to the man something to the effect: “Surprised? I always wondered why you never figured it out.” Of course this is silly but it contains a truth. A dog can love and empathize and be loyal and supportive of its human. It can forgive. Yet it totally lacks the creative spark that is such an essential attribute of the God that we worship--the loving mind behind and reflected in everything that we see and know. We are reminded constantly in these days of environmental crisis, how the wonders of creation, of our beautiful earth that we share with so many other beings can be rendered uninhabitable, at least by us and by many of our fellow creatures. Let us pray and act energetically to save what we love. We must do this if we and our cats and dogs, along with beavers and wolves, honey bees and dragon flies, and all manner of created beings may continue to call this beautiful earth our treasured home!

NEWS FROM THE CATHEDRAL - Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (stjohndivine.org

Dates to Remember
Oct 9 | Bishop Shin's episcopal visitation to the Congregation. He will preach and preside at the 10:30 AM service before meeting with the vestry.
Oct 11 - Great Music in a Great Space concert with Daniel Ficarri and the Noree Chamber Soloists at 7:30 PM
Oct 12 | Installation of the Head of the Cathedral School
Oct 19 | Evensong Commemoration for Queen Elizabeth II
Nov 1| All Saints Day Service
Nov 2 | All Souls Day Commemoration
Nov 6 - Cathedral Trustee Sunday
Nov 11 to 12 - 246th Annual Diocesan Convention at Westchester Marriott, Tarrytown, New York
Nov 13 - American Poets Corner Evensong honoring 2022 Inductee Lorraine Hansberry
Dec 3 - Special Convention to Elect Bishop Coadjutor at the Cathedral
Dec 6 - Episcopal Charities 25th Anniversary Tribute Dinner at the Cathedral
Dec 21 - Performance of El Nino, an opera-oratorio by John Adams, at the Cathedral

Columbarium Visits - Please Schedule in Advance
Due to cleaning and ongoing construction at the Cathedral, some areas may occasionally be inaccessible. Anyone wishing to visit a loved one in the Columbarium is strongly encouraged to schedule their visit in advance via this Columbarium Visit Registration form.

HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR UKRAINE

Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting Action by Churches Together (ACT Alliance) as it provides critical assistance to support people affected by violence in Ukraine. Working through ACT member Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) and other local organizations, ACT Alliance is providing emergency assistance such as food, shelter, water and basic supplies to refugees and people displaced within Ukraine. Donations to Episcopal Relief & Development’s Ukraine Crisis Response Fund will help the organization and its partners continue to provide assistance to people displaced by the crisis in Ukraine.

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE Home - Episcopal Diocese of New York (dioceseny.org)

NEWS FROM THE CONGREGATION

The Weekly Sunday Hospitality continues.

Research shows that the more you give the more you get. The more you help, the more invested you become in your church and the more it feeds you. Isn’t that amazing? Do you enjoy the coffee and the treats--the time together every week for conversation and welcoming of visitors? To keep this ministry going we need to expand the number of people involved. If you are on the list of helpers and providers of snacks, THANK YOU! If you haven’t volunteered yet— why not join the team? There is nothing exclusive about it. All are welcome to help out. If you can come once a month or every 6 -8 weeks to set up before the service and clean-up after the coffee hour, please contact Marsha Ra or Sue Sobolewski. Or talk to us on any Sunday. We will get you started on this ministry.

NEWS FROM THE VESTRY

The Vestry voted to donate $15,000 over 3 years ($5,000 per year) to the Proposed New York Episcopal Federal Credit Union. an independent, federally accredited credit union to serve the communities within the Diocese of New York. The Credit Union will open banking services to the underserved, while providing low-cost emergency loans and financial counseling. From Staten Island to Poughkeepsie, traditional banks exclude our people through financial requirements and unreasonable fees. The lack of access to basic banking tools disproportionately impacts people of color and New York’s most vulnerable, from formerly incarcerated individuals to survivors of domestic violence. The chartering process is almost complete. The very last step is to gather the final $350,000 in donation pledge commitments from across the Diocese as required start-up capital.

If you would like to make an individual pledge to this diocesan-wide fundraising effort, please email Canon Lee.

GIVE/SERVE

Questions about Realm, the Congregation’s Online Hub for Giving, Volunteering, and Reaching Out to One Another
The Admin team would love to hear from you. Whether you need help making the shift to online donations, setting up your account, or just want to know what Realm can do for you, please contact Laura and Bob at this email address: info@saintsaviour.org

THIS SUNDAY

In-Person Worship at the Cathedral

10:00 am - Doors to Cathedral open.
10:30 am - Eucharist Service
12:00 pm - Blessing of the Animals
11:30 am - All Are Welcome Coffee Hour
4:00 pm - Evensong

The Cathedral requires those entering its buildings to wear a mask.

You can also watch a Livestream of the Cathedral Worship Service
On Facebook: http://facebook.com/StJohnDivineNYC
On the Cathedral website: http://www.stjohndivine.org